2016 in review: Doernbecher’s top stories

Safety first! Tips and tricks to keep kids safe and healthy reigned supreme on our blog this year – from Pokémon GO to laundry detergent packets. At OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, we are committed to giving parents and caregivers the resources they need to make informed decisions about their children’s well-being.

Here are this year’s most-read blog posts. Enjoy!

1. Laundry detergent packets: convenient or catastrophic?
Ever since laundry packets were introduced to the U.S. marketplace in 2012, packet exposures have occurred at astonishing rates. Pediatric resident Katelyn Saarela explains the dangers of packets and encourages readers to #PassOnPackets to help implement change and keep kids safe.

2. ‘Grass Strong:’ Andy’s Doernbecher story
The Grass family’s world was changed in an instant when a sneaker wave hit 10-year-old Andy at the Oregon Coast. His dad, Paul, shares how Andy’s hospitalization and prolonged recovery affected their family – and how it continues to teach all of them strength, resilience and healing.

4. With Pokémon, not everything’s a goParents have a lot of questions about Pokémon GO – and OHSU Doernbecher Tom Sargent Safety Center Director Dr. Ben Hoffman has answers! He provides tips for staying safe (and having fun) while chasing Charmanders.

5. Swimming in the NICU
The moment your child is admitted to the NICU, your life changes. NICU mom Megan explains how she stayed afloat in the NICU and shares tips for other families who aren’t sure who or how to ask for help.

6. Braylin’s Doernbecher story
“She thinks of Doernbecher as a safe and happy place, and that has everything to do with the wonderful people who work every day to give children hope and health.” Doernbecher mom Delinah shares her daughter’s journey from a Autoimmune Hepatitis diagnosis to an emergency liver transplant.

7.Marijuana safety
After seeing a significant in crease in he number of reported marijuana exposures in the past three years, the Oregon Poison Center at OHSU developed safety recommendations around marijuana products. An important read!

8. From patient to med student: Shira’s Doernbecher story
When she was a freshman in high school, Shira Einstein was diagnosed with Hodkin’s Lymphoma. Now a third-year medical student at the OHSU School of Medicine, she believes being a cancer survivor comes with a responsibility to love her life and to invest in the health of others. In this post, she explains how the care she received and the bonds she developed at OHSU Doernbecher impacted her career path.

9. A day in the life of a Doernbecher docIn celebration of Doctors Day, we sat down with Dr. Judy Guzman, a provider who’s cared for OHSU Doernbecher patients with infectious diseases for the last 12 years. She walks us through an average day – from her morning run to conference calls and helping her kids with homework.

If you have a story you’d like to share in 2017 – or if there are specific stories you’d like to see more of – please contact our social media team at socialmedia@ohsu.edu. You can also submit your Doernbecher story here.